Just Like You
by sagi376
Summary: Vegeta adopts a young saiyan whose life spirals into his teen years as he learns about love, betrayal, and pain. New at the whole posting thing so give me a break. And please review, I'd like to know what you think


Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z or any of the songs in this story; I do, however, own Seth, Skyler, Connor, and Iris )

Just Like You

By Sagi376

Vegeta was grudgingly over at Goku's house for a reason he knew not while Gohan had a friend over. He was leaning against the wall when Gohan trotted by with his friend close behind. Gohan's little friend caught sight of Vegeta and stopped. Vegeta was about to snap something at him when the boy did something that stopped him before he could open his mouth. The young boy bowed deeply and respectfully.

"Prince Vegeta." he said before quickly darting off to catch up with Gohan.

"Kakarott!" Vegeta growled.

"Yes, Vegeta?" he said, poking his head out of another room.

"Who was that kid?" he demanded.

"Umm, I think his name's Connor." Said Goku, before disappearing again.

Whenever Vegeta saw Connor, now, the boy would give him a respectful bow before carrying on with what he was doing.

"Dad, can Connor come train in the field with us?" Gohan asked.

"I guess so, if Vegeta doesn't mind" Said Goku warily.

"It's fine Kakarott." Said Vegeta lazily. Gohan ran off to tell Connor.

Connor flew up with Gohan while Vegeta and Goku followed from behind. Connor had dusty blonde hair that was sort of curly at the bottom and was longer than a regular boy's hair, but not too long. He was skinny and had a build like Vegeta's; kind of compact but strong. He looked kind of like Vegeta but he was innocent, with a softer face, and his hair didn't stand on end. He was generally untroubled except by the fact that the prince of his home planet was right behind him. He had tons of energy to burn and Vegeta could sense it.

_He is a pure saiyan._ Vegeta thought. They reached the field and landed. Connor and Gohan began to "battle" each other as the two men watched. Connor had a real upper hand on Gohan until the demi-saiyan grabbed hold of his tail.

"Cheater!" Connor mumbled. When Gohan released his tail, he wrapped it around his waist and they continued. Vegeta watched, impressed by the way Connor fought. Of course, he didn't show it, but inside he felt that the true saiyan blood still lived on in another.

"Hey, Vegeta," Goku said after they had gotten back. "Can you take Connor back to the orphanage on your way?"

"The orphanage?!" exclaimed Vegeta.

"Yeah, he lives there because his parents were on the planet when…" he kind of trailed off. Vegeta found Connor in one of the rooms and when he went to bow, Vegeta put a hand on his shoulder.

"You don't have to bow." He said. Connor nodded with a gulp. The Prince had touched him!

Vegeta took him to the orphanage, but instead of leaving him there, he told the lady in charge that he was taking him. After, he took Connor to his house and told him that he would be living there from now on.

"Really?!" Connor squealed with excitement.

"Uh, yeah." Said Vegeta.

"I need to get clean." He looked at the floor as he said this, as if he were embarrassed.

"Are you embarrassed by me?" Vegeta asked.

"No, I am not embarrassed by you. You are the prince of Vegetasai, royal blood. And I am just the dirt at your feet." Connor did not look up from his spot on the floor.

"You're not dirt," Vegeta sighed. "Just think of me as an, err, uncle or something." Connor raised his eyes to meet Vegeta's- they were a nice blue colour.

"O-ok." Connor stuttered.

"And just call me by my name." Vegeta sighed. Connor nodded and headed towards the bathroom, to "get clean", as he called it.

A couple of minutes later, he came out stark naked and asked Vegeta for some help.

"I can't reach the button." He said. Vegeta was almost in shock from the boldness of the kid. He may be only 5 or 6, but after being so timid earlier, his nakedness was a big change. Vegeta turned the shower on for him and walked out. He told Connor to wear a towel next time; he could "catch a cold". When Connor came out of the shower, he was wrapped in a large towel that he kept tripping on. Vegeta turned the water off and Connor got dressed in a pair of black boxers and sat on the floor to play with his toy cars that he brought with him from the orphanage. He eventually just flopped over and fell asleep on the floor. Vegeta gently placed him on one side of the bed and pulled the blankets over him. He then climbed in the other side and went to sleep.

Vegeta was awoken at about one in the morning by little sobs. He flicked on the light to see Connor sitting up in bed, crying and shivering.

"What are you doing?" Vegeta mumbled.

"He was scary." Said Connor, hugging himself.

"Who was?" Vegeta said, trying to keep his anger down.

"The purple alien." He said. "The one that tried to take my clothes away." He continued to shiver and sob.

"Who did?" said Vegeta.

"The pretty alien. He said he was going to train me but my daddy came in when he took my clothes. He called me a Brat." Connor continued. Vegeta knew who he was talking about now.

"Did he touch you?"

"He rubbed me." Vegeta flinched when Connor said this.

"Where did he "rub" you?" he asked, fearing the answer.

"Everywhere. Especially my tummy and here." He put his hands on his hip bones.

"Did he put anything _inside_ you?" Connor shook his head no and Vegeta sighed with relief.

"He told me he was going to come back and finish my training. I'm scared, I don't want him to." Connor began to cry again. Vegeta wrapped one arm around Connor and looked down at him.

"I won't let him come near you, he will never come back." Vegeta said. Connor hugged him which made him flinch slightly. He was not used to affection, and Connor's bare skin was ice cold against his own bare chest.

By now Connor was 13 and Vegeta still looked after him. He was tougher on him so that he didn't grow up soft, but not too tough so that he felt unwelcome. Around this time they were headed to a planet called Namek to search for the Namek Dragon balls. There they fought the Ginyu force, which were just a bunch of goons. Then they summoned the dragon and used two of the three wishes to wish Piccolo alive and on Namek. Then Frieza showed up, furious that two of the wishes had been used.

Frieza underwent some transformations and Connor recognized him when he was in final form.

"That's him! That's the alien who tried to hurt me!" said Connor quietly. He didn't say it quietly enough though, Frieza had heard.

"I _do_ know you." Frieza said. "You were just a little brat the last time I saw you. I never did get to the next step of your _training_." Vegeta stood closer to Connor, protectively holding his arm out in front of Connor as if it would shield him.

"You won't touch him!" said Vegeta angrily.

"You had your turn." Frieza sneered. "There's enough to go around to all the saiyans," Vegeta growled lowly. "But I prefer the young ones." Vegeta continued to grow angrier as Frieza spoke. Then he attacked Frieza and they battled, Vegeta constantly being overtaken.

Just as Goku showed up, Frieza killed Vegeta by blasting a hole through his heart.

"Protect Connor…" Vegeta whispered to Goku, unable to raise his voice. His breath grew short and he closed his eyes for the last time. Goku buried him and turned.

"No!" said Connor as tears streamed down his face. He turned to Frieza and powered up, attacking the alien with a volley of ki balls that were easily dodged. He tried with all his might but Frieza was just too powerful.

"I have to admit, you put up a good fight." Frieza said as he caught Connor's arm and whipped him around on to his knee. "Vegeta has trained you quite well. But with my help you could be the best."

"No! I'm not falling for it!" Connor shouted.

"Falling for what? I'm only offering you the chance to become one of the most powerful beings alive." Frieza said.

"No! I will never train with you!" Connor said in answer to Frieza's offer.

"Ok." The alien shrugged. He then struck Connor so hard the poor kid was cratered into the ground. He was finished. He had no more strength to fight.

Gohan helped him out of the crater and Goku stepped in to fight.

"No! He can't be dead! He just can't!" Connor cried out as Gohan tried to calm him.

"Connor, calm down! There are ways to bring him back!" Gohan said, lowering him to the ground carefully. Connor crawled over to where Vegeta was buried and collapsed, unable to hold himself up any longer.

Frieza and Goku paused, glaring at each other. Then Frieza smirked.

"What? Formulated some awesome plan to beat me?" Goku joked.

"No, just to put someone out of their misery." He continued to smirk and Goku followed his gaze down to Connor's trembling body, and then back up to Frieza.

"Leave him alone, your fight is with me now." Goku said.

"Ok." Said Frieza, shrugging. As he did this, a small beam shot towards Connor and pierced his back, killing him instantly.

"Frieza!" Goku growled.

"Oops." Frieza smiled sadistically.

Back on earth, the others had finished gathering the earth Dragon balls. They summoned Shenron and wished for all of Frieza's victims to be given back their lives. Then they used the remaining Namek wish to send everyone on Namek, except Goku and Frieza, to earth.

They hadn't heard from Goku since.

It had been a year since that day on Namek and Connor had taken to wearing long sleeve shirts.

Vegeta's POV

"Hey! Get over here!" I shout at him as he was about to leave.

"Yes, Vegeta?" he answers solemnly. He's been like that for a while now.

"What's wrong? You've been miserable for a while now." Bad choice of words. He gets angry and clenches his fists.

"You want to know what's wrong?" he spits venomously. He pulls back the long sleeves of his jacket. There are scars that start at his wrists and work their way up the length of his arms. Most of them are old, but some are _very_ recent. I take half a step back.

_How could such a beautiful boy feel the need to do this?_

End Vegeta's POV

A sudden flare of anger rose in Vegeta and Connor was thrown against the wall. He didn't even see the prince move.

"Damn it, Connor! Do you think I took you in for nothing?!" Vegeta demanded angrily. "Do you think I don't care?!" his face was contorted with rage.

"Sí," said Connor, hanging his head. "Me encanta tú, mi saiyajin no ouji… pero, no te encanta mi?" Vegeta was speechless, Connor was speaking fluent Spanish and he couldn't understand a word of it.

"I-I don't understand." Vegeta said, releasing Connor.

"Hasta luego." Sighed Connor, turning and leaving out the door.

"Arghh!" shouted Vegeta as he blew a hole through Goku's wall, his power rising dangerously.

"Uhh, Vegeta, I understand you're upset but could you refrain from blowing up my house? My family lives here and I just got back." Goku asked warily. Vegeta gave him a death glare and stomped off, causing the hole to double in size.

"What's wrong, Connor?" Gohan asked Connor quietly.

"I-I don't know…" Connor said, trying to hold back tears. "I just-I just don't know."

"Let me see your arm, Connor." Gohan said carefully. Connor gave him a look that could have faltered Vegeta in return.

"Please." Connor sighed and slowly pulled up his sleeve, revealing the scars up his arm. Gohan gazed at the scars his best friend had inflicted upon himself. He reached out slowly and ran his fingertips over the marks as the 14-year-old beauty allowed his tears to fall.

"I-I don't know why I do it- I-I just feel so-"

"-Alone." Gohan cut in.

"Yeah…" Gohan then leaned forward and kissed Connor, gazing into his wide and startled eyes.

"G-Gohan?" Connor managed to say, after Gohan had pulled away.

"I'm sorry; I didn't realize what I was doing. I'm sorry, if you don't feel the same way about m-" Gohan was cut off by Connor's lips crashing onto his.

They kissed fiercely until they heard something that made Connor's blood run cold.

"Where's the boy!" Came Vegeta's cold voice.

"Uhh, I think he's in Gohan's room." Came Goku's confused response.

"Quick, pretend we were just finishing off our homework!" said Gohan as he pulled out his book and gave Connor some half finished homework. Vegeta burst through the door just as they had actually started to do the work.

"Out…Now!"

"I'm really sorry for the way I acted earlier. I-I was out of line and completely disrespectful." Connor apologized later that night.

"It's not your fault," Vegeta sighed. "It is expected of you; you are nearing first heat. It will be a new experience for you and you will experience severe mood changes. You will feel attracted to both men and women, and some will be attracted to you as well."

"S-so it's normal for guys to like guys?" Connor asked guiltily.

"During heat, yes; but after it is considered homosexuality." Vegeta replied curtly.

"Oh, who will be attracted to me?" Connor asked curiously.

"Anyone, depending on their preferences." Vegeta explained.

"Will they try to hurt me?"

"Most likely, if they are strong enough. The point of heat is to mate. Therefore, some may attempt to mate with you." He said, watching Connor's face.

"S-so Gohan o-or Goku or e-even you might try to hurt me?" Connor trembled at the thought.

"Maybe, maybe not." Vegeta smirked before leaving Connor alone to think about this.

That night, Connor lay awake contemplating all that Vegeta had said. He stared at the ceiling until he heard a knock at the window. He parted the curtains to see Gohan hovering outside his second story window.

"What are you doing here?" he asked quickly, afraid Vegeta might come in.

"I came to see, to see how you're feeling." Gohan replied.

"Uh, fine. What's heat like?" Connor asked Gohan, who was a year older than him.

"Oh, um, well-" Gohan faltered. "-um, it's different."

"How so?"

"Well, you feel oddly attracted to particular females _and_ males. Sometimes they even like you back, but usually not enough to mate." Gohan replied.

"How do you know when you are in heat?" Connor asked.

"You just, kind of, know." Gohan tried to explain.

"Oh, so you feel empty at all?" Connor asked quietly.

"Not really. You feel a kind of longing, but it eventually goes away."  
"Oh…"

"VEGETA!" the name was bellowed into the silence.

"What?!" Demanded Vegeta angrily.

"Where is my guitar?!" Connor demanded back.

"What is a guitar?" Vegeta growled.

"You know what it is; it's my most prized possession!" Connor retorted.

"You mean that noisy thing with strings?" Vegeta asked.

"Yes!"

"Other room." Vegeta shrugged before walking away. Connor raced to the other room to find his baby; but not the way he had left it.

"What did you do?!" Connor shrieked. "How did you break it?!"

"I tripped over the blasted thing." Vegeta scowled. "You _did_ leave it lying on the floor."

"In its special place! Where I _always_ leave it because you refuse to buy me a case or a stand for it!" shouted Connor.

"Earn it." Vegeta smirked.

"So, will you be able to fix it?" Connor asked the man at the guitar shop.

"Sures' I will, but it's gonna cost yas." He replied, looking over the damage.

"How much?" Connor sighed.

"Couple hundred."

"You broke it, you can pay for it!" Connor shouted at Vegeta.

"I don't think so; you can earn the money." Vegeta said.

"How?!"

"I enrolled you at that school Kakarott's kid goes to. You can earn the money by getting good letters or whatever they're called." Vegeta smirked.

"Why?!"

"Because I don't want to have to take care of you for the rest of your life." Vegeta snapped. "You start in two days."

"Vegeta signed me up in that stupid school of yours." Connor complained to Gohan, later that day.

"I like school. I think it's great that you'll be going to school with me: I'll have a friend to hang out with." Gohan said.

"You don't have any friends there?" Connor asked.

"Uh, yeah, I'm uh, kind of a bookworm. No one wants to hang around me." Said Gohan, blushing madly.

"Don't worry; I'll be a loner with you. Hey, did you know Vegeta wrecked my guitar?" Connor said.

"No, I didn't. How do you expect to start your band?" Gohan asked.

"I don't know. I need the money to get it fixed." Connor replied.

"Well, you could take out a loan at the bank." Suggested Gohan.

"That's a great idea! Uh, where's the bank?"

RING!

"C'mon, Connor! We're late!" Gohan rushed, pulling Connor through the halls to their class. Gohan burst through the door to stop dead with all eyes on him.

"You're late, Gohan. That's not like you." The teacher said disappointedly.

"Sorry, Mr. Werner, I had to show my friend where to go." Gohan apologized.

"Ah, yes, Connor, I believe."

"Yes, sir." Said Connor, entering the room.

"Ok, well, take a seat next to Gohan." The teacher said, waving them away. As they walked back to their seats, the other kids began to whisper.

"God, he's such a geek!"

"Yeah, but who's his friend?"

"It's going to be another long year." Gohan sighed, sitting down in his seat.

"Gohan, can you please help me with my history?" Connor asked, running to catch up to Gohan at break with his newly repaired guitar on his back.

"Ugh, Connor, don't you ever put that thing down?" Gohan groaned, motioning to the guitar pack.

"No, Vegeta might break it again." Connor replied.

"Ok, I'll help you. Just don't get distracted. Ok?" Gohan sighed.

"Ok."

"Argh! I give up! I will just have to be doomed to fail history forever!" Connor groaned, slamming his book shut. "I'll get a career in music where I don't have to remember these dead people!" Connor began to take out his black and auburn electric guitar.

"Connor-" Gohan cut himself off and buried his face in his hands.

"What? It helps me think." Connor stated. He began to strum a song Gohan didn't recognize.

"C'mon, Connor, we should start heading to class." Gohan said.

"I guess." Connor sighed, putting away his guitar.

"Hey, geek!" a harsh voice called out in the hall. "Ready for your first wedgie of the year?"

"Who's that?" Connor asked quietly.

"That's Carl, he's a bully." Gohan whispered.

"Are you gonna cry like last year?" Carl sneered.

"Hey, leave him alone!" Connor said.

"What're you gonna do about it?" he jeered.

"Whatever I have to." Connor replied defensively. Carl then threw a punch at Connor's face, but Connor caught the fist easily in his hand. He then pushed Carl back and away from them.

"So, you wanna fight." Carl smirked, balling his fists. He took a couple swings at Connor, but he was just too quick for the bully. Carl was thrown back into the wall where he was then pinned.

"Don't you ever bother my friend again!" Connor growled. "And what kind of a name for a bully is Carl?"

"I-I-"

"Go, now!" Connor ordered, causing Carl to run off down the hall, stumbling as he went. The crowd that had formed suddenly broke out in applause in appreciation of Connor's confrontation with Carl. Gohan then quickly led Connor to class.

"What was that about?!" Gohan demanded, later that day.

"What?" Connor asked, confusion crossing his face.

"That!"

"I was just standing up for you." Connor replied warily, not understanding the problem.

"Because of that, I have just gotten more attention than my whole time spent here!" Gohan said angrily.

"I-I'm sorry?" Connor blinked, not knowing what to say.

"Whatever, just don't do it again." Gohan growled, just as the bell rang.

After school, as Connor was walking out the front doors, he was approached by some kids.

"Hey, that was a pretty cool thing you did back there." Said one of the two boys.

"Yeah, you were pretty cool to stand up for that kid." Said the other.

"Uh, thanks." Connor said, unsure how to respond.

"Hey, you play guitar?" Asked the girl that was with them, motioning to the guitar on his back.

"Uh, yeah."

"Cool, you want to join our band?" Asked the first guy.

"You have a band?"

"Well, almost. We don't have a lead guitar or a singer." Said the girl.

"Uh, ok then." Connor agreed.

"Great! My name's Seth, this is Skyler, and that's Iris." Said the first boy

"Nice to meet you. My name is Connor." He introduced himself.

"Cool, let's go to my house and set up in my garage." Suggested Seth.

Iris was a beautiful girl with short, purple hair and green eyes. She was curvy, not too skinny, but not plump. She stood at about 5'4" and was somewhat pale. Skyler was a tall boy, about 5'9" and was quite thin. He had short brown hair and blue eyes with slightly tanned skin. He reminded Connor of the boarders he saw around the school, or even those surfers he had seen on TV. Seth was a smart boy with short, wavy blonde hair and blue eyes. He stood about 5'7" and was an overall good-looking guy.

"Ok, well, why don't you show us what you can do." Suggested Seth.

"Ok," Agreed Connor as he pulled out his guitar.

"That is a beautiful Guitar." Iris exclaimed with a gasp.

"Thank you." Connor said as he plugged the instrument into an amp. He played some chords and a killer riff that made the others drop their mouths in awe.

"Wow, that was awesome!" Skyler said incredulously.

"Thanks, but who's the singer going to be?" Connor asked curiously.

"Well, we were hoping you would." Iris said.

"M-me? No, no, no, no, I don't sing. I sound terrible!" Connor said defensively.

"Only to your own ears. I bet you can sing great." Seth assured him.

"Here, sing this." Skyler said, handing Connor a score. The others began to play; Skyler on bass, Seth on 2nd guitar and Iris on a wicked drumset.

"Yo-ho, yo-ho…" Connor burst out laughing. "This is ridiculous! I really can't sing!"

"Just try it! Please…" Iris pleaded.

"Ok, I'll try." Connor sighed. "But I'll sing a song that I wrote."

"You wrote a song?!" Seth asked.

"Yeah, I write lots of them." Connor replied.

"That's awesome!" Skyler chimed.

"Ok, can we hear it?" Iris asked.

"Yeah, ok, sure…" Connor took a deep breath and sarted playing his guitar. "I can't escape this hell, so many times I've tried, but I'm still caged inside. Somebody get me through this nightmare, I can't control myself. So what if you can see the dark inside of me, no one will ever change this animal I have become, help me believe it's not the real me, somebody help me tame this animal….." Connor sang, causing the others to gape.

"Wow." Seth said.

"That was amazing!" Skyler exclaimed.

"You're a great singer!" Iris told Connor, clapping him on the back.

"Uh, thanks." Connor said, scratching the back of his head like Goku always did.

"You are our official vocalist!" Seth announced.

"So, how was your first day?" Goku asked when Connor came over.

"It sucked until I stood up for Gohan and I joined a band." Connor replied cheerily.

"What do you mean _stood up_ for Gohan?" Goku raised a brow.

"I stopped a boy from bullying him." Connor said.

"Oh, well, great then." Goku was suddenly lost in thought.

"You told my dad?!" Gohan shrieked as he approached Connor the next morning.

"Well, he asked me about my day." Connor said, confused.

"You don't tell about bullies, that only makes it worse!" Gohan said angrily.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Connor apologized.

"You didn't know. So, I heard you joined a band." Gohan said, cooling down.

"Yeah, there are two guys and a really pretty girl!" Connor explained, excited to be able to tell someone.

"Uh, cool." Gohan said. "What's she like?"

"Oh! Well, she's really nice to me and she's really good at playing the drum set. She's smart and funny, and she died her hair purple." Connor described her to his friend.

"Oh, cool." Gohan said somewhat awkwardly.

"So, my place again after school?" Seth asked Connor.

"Sure." Connor accepted.

"Great. So, what do you think of Iris?" The question caught Connor off guard.

"Uh, I think she's very pretty and talented. Why?"

"She really likes you, you know." Seth said.

"But I thought she was your girlfriend." Connor was now very confused.

"No, she's my sister." Seth laughed. "But watch out, she's a tiger when it comes to love. She'll do anything to make you hers, and she _will_ try to bed you."

"Uh, thanks- I think. But why are you telling me this?" Connor asked uncertainly.

"Because you're not the first guy she's set her sights on." Seth replied. "Be careful around her."

"Ok, that was great! But I have to get to a doctor's appointment, so whoever leaves last, please lock the door." Seth says after their practise.

"Uh, guys, could you wait a sec? I have to put my guitar away…" Connor trailed off, realizing they had already left. "Great, I don't know how to lock the door."

CLICK

Connor's eyes darted to the door where the sound had come from.

"I thought they would never leave." Iris said, walking down the stairs towards him.

"Um, I should probably be goin-" He was cut off by her finger being placed over his lips.

"Don't speak." She told him. Her hand trailed across his chest causing him to feel a fleeting sensation in his stomach.

"I-Iris-" She cut him off with her lips, her hands were caressing his muscular chest.

"Oh, Connor!" She moaned into the kiss. Her hands slid down to his belt but they were stopped by Connor's firm hand.

"I'm really sorry, Iris. I'm just not ready for anything like this." His voice was wavering slightly. He picked up his guitar and his school bag and left.

"You're late." Vegeta's voice reverberated in the training chamber.

"I'm sorry, Vegeta, I got held up at band practise." Connor partially lied. Vegeta walked up to him and turned Connor's head to the right.

"Then what's this?" Vegeta asked, running his finger along Connor's jaw line and showing him the red substance on his once white glove.

"I-" He was cut off by Vegeta striking him across the face, sending him flying across the chamber.

"Don't lie to me." He growled, advancing on the boy.

"But, Vegeta-" Connor was thrown into the wall by another blow.

"You are behind in your training. You're going to have to make it up in intensity. This is going to be _far_ worse than it should have been."

Connor collapsed after a heavy blow to the back of his neck was delivered by Vegeta.

"That should teach you not to fool around with women when there is training to be done." Vegeta grumbled. He picked up Connor's limp form and carried him to his room. He placed Connor on his bed and wiped off the small stream of blood trailing from the corner of his mouth.

"It doesn't have to be this way." Vegeta whispered before leaving.

The next morning, Connor woke up and took a nice hot shower before heading downstairs. When he caught sight of Vegeta he stopped dead in his tracks. Vegeta looked different, attractive, beautiful. Connor shook his head and those strange thoughts left him. He quickly left so he wouldn't keep Gohan waiting.

"Hey, Connor…" Gohan trailed off when he saw Connor. He gulped as the boy approached; he looked beautiful. Gohan was unable to take his eyes off the beauty before him.

"Uh, what? Is there something on my face?" Connor asked, sensing Gohan's stare.

"Huh? Oh! No, you just look, er, different." Gohan said, looking away quickly.

"Hn. Vegeta looked different this morning too." Connor said, thinking back.

"Do I look different?" Gohan asked hopefully.

"Yeah, a little." Connor replied, still in thought.

"Vegeta gave you a bit of bruising." Gohan stated, snapping Connor back to reality.

"Is it that noticeable?" Connor asked.

"Oh, yeah."

"Great."

"What happened to you?" Seth asked later that day.

"Oh, um, tough training session yesterday." Connor replied quickly.

"Ouch. Well, do you think we could have practise at your house tonight?" Seth asked. "My parents are having the entire house fumigated."

"Uh, sure, I guess." Connor agreed.

"Great! I'll tell the others."

"Vegeta, we're having band practise here whether you like it or not!" Connor called out when they arrived at his house.

"Wow, your house is so small." Skyler said.

"Yeah, well, only two of us live here. C'mon, we can practise in my room." Connor said, leading them up to his room. The room was incredibly bare. It contained a double bed, one dresser, one desk and a closet.

"Well, this is my room. It's not much, but it's home." Connor said, looking around his spacious room.

"Um, should we get started?"

"Maybe when you find out that I'm dead, you'll realize what you did to me. And if my lungs still let me breathe, will you be there for? If I could make myself believe…" Connor sang, realizing that Vegeta was standing in the doorway. He continued, Vegeta's gaze not leaving him throughout the whole song. When the song was finished Vegeta motioned for Connor to go into the other room. He obliged and the others began to pack up.

"Do you actually believe you can do whatever you want here?!" Vegeta roared, his gruff voice clearly heard in the next room. Connor could hear the others quickly finish packing up and then leave as Vegeta shouted some other things at him.

"Vegeta, shut up!" Connor finally shouted, powering up.

"You can't beat me, Connor." Vegeta said, powering up to Super Saiyan. Connor sighed at Vegeta's words and powered down, bowing his head sadly.

"I know," Connor said quietly. "I know I can't beat you- or Gohan, or Goku, or Frieza, or anybody. I'm too weak"

"Hn?" Vegeta was caught off guard by his words.

"I'm a pure-blood saiyan and I haven't reached Super Saiyan yet. Gohan has already done it." Connor continued. Vegeta was at a loss for words so he just grunted and walked away awkwardly.

"I wish I could be strong, I wish I could be powerful…" Connor whispered as he threw himself down on his bed.

After that incident with Vegeta, Connor stopped eating. He carried on with everything else except he never stopped for food. He threw himself into intense training and refused to rest during his sessions. All Connor's friends were worried and tried to talk to him about it, but he just changed the subject cheerily. Vegeta had noticed this as well and had become a little worried, even though he refused to admit it.

Through all of everything that had happened, Connor had managed to become the most popular kid in school, while Gohan had managed to stay a loner.

"Connor, I'm worried about you." Gohan said to Connor one day. "You're not healthy; you're wasting away."

"I'm fine. What was the answer for number seven?" Connor brushed it off.

"No, you're not fine; you're going to die if you keep this up!" Gohan said angrily.

"So what if I'm not! Why do you care?" Connor snapped.

"Because you're my best friend! Do you know that you are the only student in this school that will talk to me?!" Gohan said, tears threatening to spill. "You have all the friends you could ask for, but that's not enough! You're still unhappy even though you have everything I have always wanted!"

"What about a father?! Someone who loves you and gives you affection! I have never known what it's like to have a father figure! Did you know that Vegeta has never said he cares about me? Not once has he expressed any interest in my life! It's like I don't even exist!" Connor fumed, his bottled up emotions surfacing.

"Connor, you barely _do_ exist anymore." Gohan said quietly. "Vegeta _is_ worried about you, just like the rest of us, he just doesn't know what to do. He's never taken care of anyone but himself before; it's hard for him." Connor turned his beautiful blue eyes on Gohan.

"You mean it?" He asked, vice faltering.

"Of course I do," Gohan said, smiling at him. "I would never lie to you."

"Hey, Connor!" Gohan called, running up to Connor, who was with a group of friends.

"Yeah?"

"My dad says to come over to our place tonight." Gohan said.

"Uh, yeah, ok." Connor agreed.

"Kay, see you later." Gohan said, walking off.

"Why do you even talk to that loser?" One of the guys asked.

"Yeah, my daddy says." Another mocked.

"Because he's my friend. And don't mock him, he and his father are really cool." Conner said angrily. "He's my best friend and he always will be."

"Well, here we are… High school grade 11." Gohan, who was now 17, stated.

"Yeah, I hear the girls here are crazy." Connor said.

"Yeah, oh, there's the bell. See you later." Gohan said, rushing off to class.

"Uh, yeah, see ya." Connor said before trudging off to class. After being super popular in middle school, Connor was not looking forward to high school. He went to class and sat down in the only available seat.

"Hello, class, my name is Mr. Jenkins and I will be your History teacher for this year." The teacher said in a monotone voice. Connor slammed his head down on the desk- this was going to be a long year.

"Why did Skyler and them have to move?" Connor asked himself on the way to math class. When he got there he was assigned to a seat amidst a bunch of chattering girls.

"He's cute."

"No, wait, look at his arms! Freak!"

"What a loser!" The girls were all talking about him… and his scars. He sighed and buried his face in his arms.

"So, how was your first day?" Gohan asked after school, after waving good bye to a girl he had met.

"Terrible! I'm going to fail all my subjects and I've already been labelled a freak." He growled.

"Don't worry about it, you'll always be my best friend." Gohan reassured him with a smile.

A couple of months later…

Connor dragged himself out of bed and hopped into the shower to be greeted by the familiar sting of the hot water hitting his wounds. He looked down at his arms, transfixed by the deep red gashes that covered the soft white flesh. He washed his hair and body, not caring that the soap and shampoo stung his arms. After his shower, when he was dressed and had eaten, he trudged slowly to school. He had grown accustomed to Gohan walking to school with his _other_ friends, leaving him to walk all alone. When he got to school he spotted Gohan with a group of friends and headed towards them. One of the kids whispered something to Gohan just Before Connor reached them.

"Hey, Gohan," Connor said.

"Oh, uh, hey…" Gohan said. " Umm, I can't really talk right now, we're, umm, rehearsing for a history presentation."  
"Oh, ok…" Connor slowly walked off, not knowing that what Gohan had said was a complete lie.

After school Connor caught up to Gohan, who was alone at the moment.

"Hey, Goh-"

"I can't be seen talking to you, Connor. Otherwise I can't hang out with my friends." Gohan interrupted Connor.

"What do you mean?" Connor asked.

"They'll think I'm a loser if they catch me talking to you." Gohan said quickly.

"But I'm your friend." Connor croaked.

"Yeah, but they're cool, and for once… So am I." Gohan said.

"So I'm not allowed to talk to you because I'm not cool enough to." Connor stated, tears welling in his eyes.

"How do you think I felt last year? You can talk to me when no one is around." Gohan snapped.

"You jerk!" Connor swung a punch at Gohan who blocked it easily, just as his friends came into view.

"Fight!" One shouted.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" They all chanted as Gohan and Connor swung at each other. Eventually Connor was knocked to the ground, bloody and bruised with a black eye and a fat lip.

"Get out of here, freak!" One of Gohan's friends shouted at him.

"Go home and slit your wrists some more!" Another chorused.

"Get lost and don't come back, loser!" One of the girls said.

"Gohan…" Connor pleaded.

"Go home." Gohan said, spitting on him.

"Aww, look, the loser's going to cry!" One of the boys sneered as Connor got up and wiped his eyes. He flew off into the air, not caring if he blew their cover.

Connor came home to an empty house and ran, crying, up to his room. He grabbed his razor and cut deep gashes across his wrists and inner arms, deeper than he had ever cut before. As his arms bled, he punched holes through his walls and screamed. He then went into him bathroom and looked into the mirror at his reflection. He saw his sallow face with its black eye and split and swollen lip. He then punched the mirror, causing it to shatter, and fell to the floor in a pool of his own blood.

When Vegeta came home, he called Connor to come down and explain why the door was broken down. When he received not reply he stormed up the stairs to Connor's room to find the walls beaten in and a bloody razor on the bed. He followed the trail of blood spatter to the bathroom where he found Connor, barely breathing on the blood soaked floor. He kneeled down and lifted the boy up with shaking hands.

"Why did you do this to yourself?!" Vegeta demanded, supporting Connor's head and shoulders.

"All I ever wanted-" Connor choked out. "- was to be just like you. I wanted to be powerful like you, have friends like you, and for you to be proud of me. Tell Gohan I hope he's happy, I'll never get to live my dreams, and it's all his fault. I loved him, and I love you, Vegeta. Good bye." And with that said, Connor closed his eyes for the last time and gently let out his last breath. Vegeta let a lone tear fall and tenderly kissed Connor's pale lips.

"I love you too."

THE END


End file.
